Jablonka Koscielna

[120.7 kilometers NE of Warsaw]

52° 57' / 22° 22'

Jablonka My Shtetl

by Arie Wajsbord

Translated by Ada Holtzman

In the middle of the road between Wysokie to Zambrow, on the right side, in the
middle of a small valley - Jablonka, my little town exists. Three streets were
in Jablonka, and 90% of it were Jews. The street which leads to Wysokie
Mazowiecki was called Podlasia; the street to zambrowa was named
Moza and the half a circle between the two streets was named the
Rynek (the Market square).

From a distance the three streets resembles an eagle, and since nearby was the
river Raczka Jablon (and from this derived the name of town Jablonka), the shtetl had the image
of an eagle landing from the heights to drink fresh and pure waters.

According to the sources Jews came to Jablonka long time before their settlement
in the beighbouring towns. Testimony of this fact is the old cemetry with the
large trees which no more thicken and frozen they stand with their enourmous
heads, like guards keeping the remains of Kosher Jews who buried in the
Kever Israel (grave of Israel) for many generatins. In the Yizkor book of Lomza,
Yom Tov Lewinski writes that when Zambrow, the town near Jablonka, was founded, the deceased of
zambrow were buried in Jablonka, until the town grew bigger and with many
efforts, the community of Zambrow got the permission to sanctify its own Jewish
cemetery. In addition, it was the custom to arrange divorce ceremony in
Jablonka, because it had the river running all the year, while in Wysokie it
got dried in the summer time.

The estate of the Kulesze was on a few dunams, and considred as a holy site.
This is because of a legend which passed from generation to generation in
Jablonka, that in this place, on the old foundations of the old synagogue which
was destroyed during WWI, a new holy site will be erected. And we, the
children, dreamt and hoped to see the new synagogue with blue windows stand
again, and pigeons, as the old people said, will sing their beautiful tunes
once again.

The Jews of Jablonka were modest and hard laborers, who worked hard for their
livelihood and were connected to the land from which they made their living.
They fulfilled all their duties as citizens of Poland, and were totally devoted
to the Zionist idea. We did not have revolutionaries and nor Epicureans. During
a dry year the Jews of Jablonka prayed for rain and in over flooded year they
prayed for bright blue skies.

Although it was a very small, our shtetl was blessed with intellectuals such as
Bril and Szmule Slotka and
Mendel Kroliwecki of blessed memory, the doctor who cured for free also Gentile
people.

In Jablonka there were pioneer youth who went to
Hachshara
places (places of preparatory for immigration to Eretz Israel) and during years
they prepared for immigration so that they weill be useful
and constructive citizens in the Land of Israel. And there were young men in
Jablonka, who, as there were no Yeshiva (Talmudic college) in town, wandered to far away
Yeshivas all over Poland and Lithuania to study the Torah.
When they returned to the shtetl, with the Zionist ideals penetrated into
them, they spread the idea of the national revival in Eretz Israel among the
youth and the adult people. They participated in public shows, participated in
public ardent debates about subjects of paramount concern and sung the songs of
Zion. Often the passionate arguments reached high tones, especially when
orators from Poalei Zion and other parties came from Zambrow and Wysokie.
Even though these verbal
fights seemed so deep, it never was accompanied by any hostility to the
opponent. As these debates were for heaven sake, and afterwards the opponents
remained friend as before. Because everybody knew that even if the roads are
different' they all lead to the same goal. Until today I remember the spiritual
pleasure which we derived from sitting with our Yeshiva
young men.

Jablonka was a distinguished Zionist shtetl. In every home you could find the
blue box of Keren Kayemet Le'Israel (The Jewish National Fund), and during
every event, funds were collected for Eretz Israel. Every cultural event
with any income, part of it was allocated to the Keren Kayemet, and every
bet or a vow, the money was donated to it or the Keren Hayesod  the Foundation Fund.

The economic life of the Jews of Jablonka resembled more the life style of a
Moshav Ovdim (communal settlement in Eretz Israel) than the Jewish shtetl in Poland. Each
Jew had a vegetable garden and also fruit trees. Nearly every family had a
cow and everyday there was someone else who took the herd to the pasture and
return it in the evening. The fee of the shepherd was paid collectively. When
the time to collect potatoes arrived (since every Jew took care of having a
cellar full of potatoes for the whole year, whether it was his own filed or
leased one), the work was done collectively in turn. Everyday people were
gathered at someone's field who prepared Tluka
and together they filled tens of sacks with the collected potatoes.

Similar happening was in pulling feathers during the night following the
Sabbath. This became a source of joy. In Jablonka nearly every family had an auxiliary
farm, especially poultry: hens, ducks and goose. The goose and ducks were
fattened and while they were fat enough, the Shochet, (ritual slaughterer)
who was my uncle from Wysokie, was called to butcher
them. The fat was melted during the long winter nights and the feathers were
pulled and cushions and pillows their were filled with them. These pillows were
given to young maidens as part of their dowry. Also filling the cushions was
done together in good company. The housewife fried latke,
pancakes with sugar and fritters were eaten without an end, each one as
much as he liked. Often such a tluka ended by dawn.

These frequent gatherings inspired the shtetl with good atmosphere of family
warmth. Everyone cared for his fellowship and was interested with his friend's
well being and the whole shtetl seemed to be one big family.

Without artists and entertainers, our townspeople knew to rejoice and fill their
lives with folkloristic hearty meaning. Take for example the Sabbath (Saturday)
when they whole shtetl received a groom who came to visit his bride
from another place. As soon as the prayer of Mussaf had ended, the children
rushed, red were their faces from excitement, to bring
the Cholent. By the end of the meal, they were sent with a bottle of liqueur to the house
of the future father-in-law (only children were allowed to carry anything
during the holy Sabbath). And in the house of the future father-in-law, tables were prepared with
drinks and refreshments: fruits, hazelnuts and sweets from Eretz Israel

During the evening, all those who sent drinks to the house of the future
father-in-law gathered and around led tables greeting and wishes were said to
the engaged couple and their parents. People ate, drunk, sung and recited poems
and prayers and everybody participated in their fellowman's happiness. These
fests contributed a lot to the success of the matchmaking than the dowry.

Also secular days were full of joy and festivities. While our dramatic circle
showed a play, many visitors from Zambrow and Wysokie, Wizna and Kulesze
Koscielne and all the neighboring small villages where Jews lived came to see
it and enjoyed the opportunity of meeting of other Jews from other shtetls.

Gone is Jewish Jablonka. Our little shtetl was erased off the earth like
hundreds of other communities in Europe. After the War I had sent a letter of
inquiry to Mr. Zaloski, my Polish teacher. He wrote to me that the Jews of
Jablonka stayed for a short time in ghetto Wysokie, and together with the Jews
of Zambrow they were deported and perished in Auschwitz. From the Polish
population, the teacher Jazombek and the policeman Bagonski were killed.

After the receipt of this letter, my last hope ended. There are no more Jews in
Jablonka. Father perished, Mother perished, brothers and sister perished. The
cruel enemy murdered them all  people, women, children. And a frightful cry
emersed from the depth of the heart:
W H Y?!

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